What are you most excited about for the future?

I love that this is the prompt today because today is my birthday! In my journal this morning I reflected on the “lives” I’ve already lived. There are so many versions of me that if I didn’t have photographs and journals as proof, I don’t know if I would be able to separate the facts from fiction.

Now that it’s the evening, I’ll reflect on what I have to look forward to in this upcoming year. In my effort to keep it short, I’ll do so with a poem.

I’m excited about…

Sharing my art with others
Encouraging creative mothers
Watching my garden grow
All the new things I’ll know
my first gallery show

Written notes for a future book
Developing my signature look
That basement clutter downsized
All kept items organized

My tools in their right place
Complete projects at a steady pace
Hosting when the sun won’t scorch
Atop our newly furnished porch

Another costume season
Copious feasts of reason
A brand new electric car
Continuing to avoid the bar

A painter’s trip to Spain
City visits on the train
Reaching out to friends more often
Another year avoiding the coffin

–

I spent the day painting, with my family, and in my garden. Yesterday I went to a lovely restaurant with my family, and on our recent trip to the Philippines, my birthday was celebrated with the other July birthdays (including my 96-year-old grandmother-in-law and 6-year-old son) three times. I feel loved, celebrated, and grateful.

My painting is incomplete, here’s the progress.